CH 36
In the cargo area of the tuck that felt like it was driving across the landscape, Delilah stood up looked around then pulled out her cell phone.
"Have a signal?" Miss Winters asked.
"Not yet," Delilah said. On the sides were rails to secure cargo to. Delilah climbed up on the rails and punched a hole in the roof. She pushed the edges to make the opening bigger. Hanging into the rails, she pulled her cell phone again. "Now I do." She called Cameron.
.
Cameron had just gotten a call from Sonya at the garage about armed men going into the sheriff's office with assault rifles. They had arrived in a school bus with a couple SUV's behind it. Cameron quickly called one school then the other and warned them about armed men in town with a school bus. The primary school told her that bus had left for the field trip.
"John! We got trouble!" Cameron yelled and got on the computer to contact John Henry.
.
At both schools, the doors were all locked and all the students were hustled into the gym that had steel fire doors that were lockable, and access to the outside.
Upon the call from the office for all students and teachers to report to the gym immediately, Mr. Nader stopped class and said, "Everyone, go to the gym. Leave your books, just get up and go."
Noting his voice was firmer than usual, Joan got up and asked, "What's happening, Mr. Nader?"
"Unknown. report to the gym, I will find out." He said tonelessly.
Joan left, but hung back as everyone else flowed down the hallway.
"What's up?" Allison asked from beside her.
"Don't know, let's go find out."
Joan and Allison hurried down to the office to see Mr. Nader go in and talk to a harried looking principal. They put their ears to the glass to hear.
Principal : And all we can do is get everyone to the gym and lock it from the inside."
Mr. Nader : How many gunmen are coming?"
Principal : "We don't know, all we know is they hijacked a school bus and kidnapped everyone on board."
Mr. Nader : "Get everyone into the gym, I will take care of the situation."
Mr, Nader strode out and headed for the gym. Joan ran up to him. "I'm helping," she stated.
"I am too!" Allison stated.
"No, you will be safe in the gym. You are students." Mr. Nader stated.
Coming to the gym area, Mr. Nader went into his office. Joan and Allison went with him.
"Mr Nader, we can watch your back and help make sure those men don't get into the gym," Joan explained
"You are students and must be protected," Mr. Nader stated. He went to a tall steel safe and turned the combination.
"What if it's someone who knows about CPU chips, and pulls yours?" Joan asked.
Mr. Nader opened the safe, pulled out combat shotgun, loaded it and slung it over his shoulder. He then pulled out a belt fed .30 caliber machine gun and laid it on the table. The cartridge box was on a belt he put on.
"Mr, Nader, for the sake of the school, please let us help!" Allison pleaded.
Someone ran down the hallway and yelled, "They're here, shut and lock the doors!" The gym doors then banged shut.
Mr, Nader looked up in a glance, then loaded the first cartridge into the breach and locked it shut. He pulled a pair of MP10's from the safe. He handed one to each girl, then gave them five extra clips, fully loaded.
He then stated, "You both get a demerit for disobedience. Watch the hallway to the gym, and the door to the outside." He tossed on a long leather coat and put on a pair of dark sunglasses.
"I'll be back," he stated and strode out.
They could see far down the long hallway. At the intersection where the an hallway met the one to go outside, they figured the outside one was the worst threat. Joan took station peeking out out of the entrance to the boy's locker room. Allison stayed at the intersection peeking down the hallway.
Far down the hallway, they heard glass shattering. Right after that, Mr. Nader's machine gun thundered out a long string of shots.
.
John had Sonya take care of whoever was in the Sheriff's office. Knowing Delilah was with the kids, he got a GPS fix on them from John Henry. John Henry also showed vehicles coming up the lake road. They headed east at the intersection. He called his mother to let her know it was coming, then ran to the EV-2 with Cameron.
Having no turret, Cameron grabbed the M-14 with both hundred-round magazines and stood in the back as John drove. John ran full out towards Sarah and Martin's house.
Sonya walked to the sheriff's office with a shotgun close by her side, down and out of view from the office. Up on he porch, she walked straight in. A man holding an AK47 lifted it up and barked, "Stop!"
She swung the shotgun into view, he fired and ruined her belly, She blew him back into the wall, hitting right after the big blood spot from his body did. He fell dead. Marching back into the cell area, she saw the sheriff in a cell looking out.
"Damn, Sonya, you're wounded," he said.
"It happens," She replied and tore the cell door open. "We have the sixth grade kidnapped, the bus went to the schools with gunmen in it. We need to take care of the schools problem first. Cameron and John are heading to where the kidnappers took the other children. I need a ride."
The sheriff pointed to her holed and bleeding stomach. "You need medical attention. Why are you still standing?"
"I am a terminator, sheriff, the damage to me you see does not matter. Those children do. We need to go." She turned and walked out. The sheriff followed. Seeing the dead man slumped in the corner, he grabbed the gun for a weapon. Sonya wasn't waiting.
In his patrol car, he unlocked the shotgun there and drove lights and siren off to the primary school. "The bus isn't here," he said. He pulled around to the side, out of view of the windows.
"One bus, it most likely left some men behind," Sonya concluded. "Follow me in, watch the other doors when I enter a room." she told him.
"Ma'am just WHO are you to give me orders?"
Sonya pulled out her thin wallet with her badge. "Sonya Connor, Homeland Security Special Agent."
"Lead the way," he told her.
.
At the boy's locker room entrance, Joan heard glass breaking. She aimed. "We got company," she said.
An arm reached in to open the door from the inside. Joan shot a burst into the shoulder. A man screamed and the arm retracted. She saw a form outside through the window and shot again. Another pained scream wailed out.
Allison ran to peek out through the window over the sights of her gun.
A male voice cried, "What the FUCK! They got the army in there?"
Joan jumped and landed by the shattered window in the door. Seeing a man still standing with his face covered and a gun in his hand, she let go with a burst to his chest. He fell and didn't move. Another machine gun ripped out a long burst. The man with the wounded shoulder stopped screaming. Hearing footsteps coming, she peeked out through the window. Mr. Nader was coming in long strides.
"Miss Connor, get your head back inside!" he said firmly. "Stay at your post until I complete a survey of the area."
"Yes, Mr. Nader." she said and pulled back in.
.
Billy was in the passenger seat as they drove around the lake to the rendezvous point. He looked at his watch. By the time anyone could be notified and actually get here, he'd have this town on it's knees.
"What the hell is that?" the driver asked.
Billy looked up and saw what looked like a tank speeding at them with a woman standing in the back and pointing a rifle at them. His thoughts never made it to his mouth. The woman opened up in full auto and ripped through their car, killing him and everyone in it, them strafed the car behind him to splatter more glass and blood on the road. Both cars, now driverless crashed as the EV-2 sped past them.
.
The men at the primary school rushed in to find it empty. They searched every room downstairs, then went upstairs to find empty offices. The watch in the stairway said, "Hey! I hear someone on the first floor!"
He looked down again to see a giant of a woman, her shotgun was pointed right at him.
BOOM
Sonya stepped over the dead man and racked another shell in and aimed at the doorway to the second floor. Some fool obliged her and looked down.
BOOM
Another shell in the chamber and she looked down to the other stairway at the end of the hall. The sheriff was in place.
Three more men came out of rooms and fired at her. She took the hits and shot down two, the third pulled back into the room. She clipped him and the edge of the wall. She racked another shell in and strode down the hallway to that room.
That man was holding his arm that was bleeding badly. He saw her and tried to raise his gun.
BOOM.
His body was spread over a few desks.
Leaving the room, Sonya said, "I'm going to do a room by room search."
.
The truck finally stopped. Delilah went over by JJ, who was holding a frightened Peggy, and Jackie. "Jackie, don't shoot until I do first. After that kill as many as you can as fast as you can. JJ, if you can cause a diversion, fine. Otherwise, protect Peggy. Everyone, like flat towards the center of the truck."
The class scurried to do as Delilah asked, The back door opened. four guns were pointed at them by the armed, masked men.
"Adults, get out of the truck, NOW!" a man behind the gunmen announced.
Delilah jumped down, then helped the other women out. They were turned around and their hands were tie-wrapped together behind their backs. They were marched to the side behind the truck and lined up.
"On your knees!" the one who seemed to be in charge behind them forced them to their knees. Miss Winters sobbed.
The leader strode in front of them. "Listen up!" he said. he looked at his watch and said, "In fifteen minutes, If we don't find out who has been killing the protesters in the area, one of these children will be executed!"
Delilah let out a snort. "You talking about that caravan of gunmen who got wiped out in that big traffic accident a few weeks ago?"
"You know about it?" he asked in a hard tone.
"Sure do. That was me. That scum didn't last long enough to even let out a beg for mercy," Delilah stated.
"Watch who you call scum, lady!" Another man barked.
Delilah looked at him and said, "I am." She looked around and noted where the men were positioned around them and to the sides of the truck.
"Eyes front!" The leader snapped. "Who was with you?"
"Nobody. It was only 46 of them. I didn't need any help." she stated.
"Drag a kid out here!" the leader barked.
A man went to get up and in. Seeing this, JJ said, "Jackie stay, I'll go." He got up.
Peggy grabbed his shirt. "NO! You can't!"
JJ turned and pulled her off. "Peggy, stay here, stay low. It will be all right."
"NO it won't they're going to KILL YOU!" she wailed.
"Louise, keep her in here," JJ said.
Peggy got up and wrapped he arms around him. "NO! Not you, Johnny!" she cried.
"Both of you, get out here!" the man stated in a heavy tone.
JJ eyed him. It was easy to see Peggy was not gong to let go of him. The best he could do was to say, "Stay behind me."
The man went to grab his arm. JJ knocked it away, sending the man's arm flying. The man backed up and pointed his gun at him.
"I can get down by myself," JJ said in an even tone. He got Peggy down and held her behind him.
"Over there!" the leader barked.
JJ walked over to the spot, keeping Peggy behind him. Quietly, he said, "If I move suddenly or you hear a gunshot, drop to the ground fast and hug it."
"I can't lose you," Peggy whined.
"Did you hear me?" he asked. "Hit the ground fast."
"Enough talk!" the leader snapped. He turned to Delilah and pointed at JJ. "You will tell me who was with you or I shoot him here and now!" He pulled a pistol and aimed at JJ.
"Oh Goddess!" Peggy whimpered.
Mommy Two said she needed a distraction. JJ provided it. A man was behind him, so was Peggy. He saw a good looking rock right in front of him, about baseball sized. As fast as he could move, he bent forward and threw Peggy off him, scooped up the rock and threw it at the gunman behind him. His aim was true. It hit the man square in the forehead. The man dropped limp.
While everyone was still shocked at the action, he asked, "Good throw, huh?"
The leader shot him square in the chest. JJ fell back, Delilah snapped her restraints, obliterated the leader with a plasma bolt and yelled, "Jackie, now!"
Delilah shot the gunmen one after the other, leaving burning pieces of corpse to hit the ground. Jackie jumped out of the truck to join her mother in burning down gunmen.
Bullets and plasma filled the air, JJ scrambled over and covered Peggy, who was crying in a wail. "Stay down, stay here," JJ told her, the crawled back to pick up the gun from the one he'd nailed with the rock. He helped shoot down the gunmen, the ones closest to the truck first.
Screams sounded from the gunmen as they backed away and kept firing and quick losing numbers. they all forgot about the children in the truck and tried in vain to shoot down the ones killing them.
Peggy's head felt like it was about to explode. The violent thoughts screamed in her brain and loud weapons fire seemed to crush her ears. Lifting her head she looked for Johnny. He wasn't beside her and wasn't in front of her.
A wail of "I surrender!" was answered by one last plasma bolt. Then all got very quiet.
"Jackie, check the truck, see if anyone's hurt!" Delilah yelled.
"Look at you!" Miss Winters cried.
Delilah had bullet wounds all over. Her neck was bleeding from a bullet wound, she was covered in blood, her hair even had blood dripping out from wounds and just below her right eye, the flesh was torn lose to hang down on her cheek. Delilah looked down at her and said, "Never said I'd be pretty after this. The children need to be checked on."
"HOW are you still standing?" A shocked Mrs. Richard asked.
"Bullets really hurt, but they can't kill me." Delilah said and winked.
"Johnny?" Peggy asked weakly as she looked around for him.
"Yeah, you OK"' he asked as he crawled over to her on his hands and knees.
She looked to see him flop down beside her. She screamed. Johnny was leaking blood from a wound in the center of his chest, inside his left shoulder and a trench in his hairline.
"Not so loud," he complained weakly.
Peggy sat up and slapped a hand over his chest wound and the one on his shoulder. She desperately cried, "Help Johnny's been shot!" Looking down on his tired looking face, she pleaded, "Stay with me, you've got to stay with me!"
"Not going anywhere," he said in a pained voice. "I just want to lay here for a bit."
"HELP, Johnny's been SHOT!" she cried out again.
"Peggy ... Peggy," he said getting her to look at him. "It's OK. You're not hurt, are you?"
"It's not OK!" Peggy cried. "You're bleeding."
JJ cracked a grin, "Yeah, getting shot sucks, but as long as it wasn't you."
"No don't say that! YOU can't die on me, do you hear? You CAN'T die on me!"
"If I died on you, you'd have to move me to get up," he said and let out a weak chuckle. Looking up at her stricken teary face, he tried to think of something to cheer her up. He sang, "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray . You'll never know, dear..." He paused realizing the next line was more than he wanted to say. "Ahh, sorry, I know my voice sucks."
Peggy let out a teary giggle. "You're gong to make it, I swear," she said firmly.
"Move over!" Delilah said as she knelt down. she called out, "I need some bandages here too!"
JJ saw her wounds. "Hey Mom, You're looking kinda ragged."
"Firefights do that," She stated. "Now hold still." he moved Peggy's hand off his mid chest wound.
He saw her hand reform into a pair of narrow clamps. "Man! This is going to hurt, isn't it?" he asked.
"The bullets have to come out." Delilah stayed, then put her device into the bullet wound.
JJ grimaced, Peggy held his hand. Delilah fished the bullet out and tossed it aside. Miss Winters came over with a long rag. Delilah took it, folded it over and put it on his wound, then grabbed Peggy's hand and slapped it over the rag. "Hold that down," Delilah told her, then worked to removing the other bullet.
"Mom! We got Jackie bandaged up!" Louise called.
JJ yelped. "This hurts worse than when it went in!" he cried out.
Miss Winters had another bandage ready. Delilah got the bullet out then the bandage was clapped in place. More material came, JJ ended up with a partial face cover head wrap, a stocking sling for his arm and a few tied together arm sleeves to wrap his chest and hold that bandage in place.
"This will do you until we get home," Delilah told him.
"What about you, Mom?" he asked.
"I'm next. Go around in front of the truck, there's no bodies there." she told him.
JJ groaned his way up to sit. Peggy helped to stabilize and lift him to his feet. She got under his good arm to help him walk with an arm around him.
"I thought we were dead," she said weakly.
"I promised to look out for you, didn't I?" JJ asked. "It would have been easier if you stayed on the truck though. You worry me."
I worry you?" she asked. "Look at you! I'm surprised you're not dead."
JJ eyed her. "Die and miss seeing you? Not happening."
Peggy guided him over to where other kids were sitting as well as the bandaged up Jackie.
"Figures," Jackie said with a snort. "Even shot up, you still have to flirt with your girlfriend."
JJ settled down near her. "Let me guess, you're jealous because you don't have a boyfriend."
"No."
"Yeah."
"NO"
"YEAH"
"Stop teasing your sister," Peggy said. "Why don't you finish the song you started?"
"I see," Jackie said, "You want to torture me."
"I think Johnny sings fine," Peggy told her.
"You must be tone deaf," Jackie replied.
A engine noise sounded and got louder. Hearing it, JJ said, "That must be our EV."
It was. The EV-2 rolled over a hill nearby into sight. Cameron was in back sporting her M-14. Rolling up to a stop. JJ watched it then, yelled, "The cavalry is here! Just a bit late."
Jackie snorted out a chuckle.
.
It was tight, but Cameron and John got everyone up and packed into the EV-2. They put healthy kids inside sitting on laps with John. Jackie, JJ, Peggy who insisted on staying with JJ, and her all but comatose brother who was shaking like a leaf, in the back with Cameron and the other adults.
John drove easy across the terrain, then got to the main road and drove them into town to the sheriff's office where cars were waiting to pick up their children.
Seeing two Littleton men watching the EV pull up and stop, Cameron said, "Littleton children are back here." She picked up Eddie who was mumbling to himself. The men ran over. One took their son with tears in his eyes. "What happened to them?' he asked.
"Very bad luck," Cameron told him. He glared briefly at her and took Eddie to the car.
"Peggy? Peggy!" the other man called.
"Peggy, your ride is here," Cameron told her.
"I know," Peggy said. She looked at JJ. "Are you going to be OK?"
"I'll be fine. Go home, you've had a bad scare." he replied.
Peggy nodded. She knew one of her fathers was watching, but kissed Johnny anyway. "See you in school," she said.
"You will," JJ assured her.
Peggy walked to the back. She saw the look of shock on younger father's face. His face scrunched up as he helped her down. Without a word he took her over to the car. They got in and left.
Once the back was emptied and all the kids were out and being hugged by their parents, the sheriff came over to John and Cameron.
"All the perps are dead," he told them. "This is going to be another big investigation."
"Imagine so," John agreed.
"I see you got Delilah there and two little ones wrapped up in bandages. Need some medical assistance? I can get an ambulance her quick."
"It's just minor scrapes and cuts," Cameron told him. "There's just many of them. We just need to bathe them in antiseptic and they'll be fine."
"Heard from a couple that all three took more than their fair share of bullets," the sheriff said. "Sure you don't want that ambulance?" he asked and looked at nearly mummified Delilah.
"We'll be OK, like Cam said,
"It look worse than it is," Delilah assured him.
The sheriff tipped his hat back. "That's what Sonya said, and I know she took half a clip of AK47 right into her belly, very short range. She went home with Mark from the garage. He looked a bit frantic when he saw her."
"We'll check on her too," John told him. "How's the schools?"
"No students hurt, and the bus will be bringing kids home a little early. If you want to go get them, that will save a run."
"We will, thank you Sheriff." John said. He and Cameron got in. They rolled down the street.
Watching them go, the sheriff said, "Thank you, for saving us from a possible horrible disaster."
.
Mark carefully washed Sonya off as she lay naked on the bed. He marveled that all those bullet holes were closing up even as he cleaned her off. "You really do heal fast," he told her as he cleaned of the last specks of blood on her. "This is amazing. Wish I could do that."
"I can make it so you will," she said.
Mark chuckled. "Is there anything you can't do?" he asked.
Sonya cast him a cute frown, the said, "Fly. I just haven't figured out how yet."
Mark laughed. "If it's possible, I'm sure you'll do it," he told her. "So just how are you going to let me heal as fast as you?"
Sonya grew a smile. "Get undressed and get in bed, and I'll explain everything in great detail."
.
Peggy had a quiet ride home. Both her fathers were flustered and angry their children had been in what was essentially, the middle of a battle. Getting home, Eddie was recovered enough to walk in the house by himself. Her mothers and older father were there at the door to console Eddie and get him up to his room to rest.
Middle and younger father stayed downstairs with Peggy.
"This is horrible," younger father said. "Eddie has had a bad traumatic experience, and Peggy has yet to even speak, and look at her, filthy dirty and she had blood on her!"
"It is. I have to wonder if leaving them in school is doing much more harm than good."
Peggy took that time to respond. "Going to school had nothing to do with what happened," she said calmly. "Eddie had no one there to support him. That is why he closed up so far into himself."
Both men turned to her. "Where were you? Didn't you try to comfort him?" Middle father asked.
"At the time, I was in no shape to help anyone. I too, felt like closing off the world and let fate do as it wished with me," Peggy told them. "I had one thing that kept me lucid and struggling to cope." Turning to look at them, she said, "I had Johnny. Through that whole ordeal, he kept assuring me he would protect me, and I'd be fine. Even though I doubted him, I still believed in him. That is the best I can explain it. Even at the end, when I couldn't see him, he crawled, on his hands and knees, he'd been shot a few times but he still struggled his way over to assure me I'd be safe." she sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye. "He looked like he was bleeding to death but his biggest concern was ME! He even tried to cheer me up with a dumb joke and sang a bit to me."
"You saw that battle?"
"Not just saw it, I was in the middle of it," she told them. "I was cowering on the ground, wishing I could dig a hole to make myself smaller. Johnny put me on the ground and told me to stay there just before he was shot the first time. With all the weapons being fired right over my head, all the hate and fear all around me, there is one thing I learned. A couple actually."
Firming herself up, she stated, "None of the hate was coming from Johnny, Jackie or Delilah, who were the ones fighting the kidnappers. The desire to do harm, the hate, was coming from those who kidnapped us. The emotions were so strong, I though my head was going to just ... explode. All I felt from Johnny was the fear I would be killed. I believe Delilah was the one fearing for all of us. Jackie was desperate to get rid of the very real threat her fiends and family were going to die there."
Gaining strength though her conviction, she kept on. "I was ready to die, right there with Johnny, I knew he was ready to die for me. For a short while, I expected to. I didn't count, but it was about 20 kidnappers. That three of them could defeat so many, I didn't think was possible, but they did. I have constantly heard from my family here, that especially the Connors were ... rabidly violent. Maybe they are, but their intent is not to harm, but to protect. They can't help the fact so many come to harm them or the ones around them. I know Johnny would stand at the very gates of the Abyss, if it was to protect me, or any of his family. I am also fairly sure that he would find a way to win. You have asked me, and pleaded with me to not to become too close to Johnny. I'm sorry, but I am very close to him. I have seen his devotion, and his wit."
Both men gaped at her.
Peggy stood up. "I hold a high respect to all of my family here. We are no longer on our old planet, this is a new one where we will have to learn how to adapt. Things here are not as black and white as being peaceful or aggressive. If you will excuse me, please, I want to go find that song Johnny started to sing to me, but suddenly stopped."
Her fathers blinked as if coming out of a trance. "May we help?" her younger father asked.
"Yes, please."
They went to the Earth style computer they had gotten and found a site that listed songs. Peggy typed in the words Johnny had sung to her. A hit came up named 'You are my sunshine.' Peggy played it.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
you make me happy, when skies are grey
you'll never know dear,
That was all Johnny had sung to her.
how much I love you
please don't take my sunshine away.
Hearing the part after he'd stopped singing, Peggy burst into tears. The song went on and she cried through it. This time though, they were tears of joy.
.
Over the next few weeks, General Watson notice that the riots had dropped off to nearly nothing. There were still protests, but they were peaceful. Some other news he found interesting was a billionaire they had suspected of financing all the trouble was in the hospital, and destitute. In an unexplained glitch, his money disappeared from the banks the same time his own computers and backups suffered a catastrophic failure. His lawyers were working on trying to get his funds back, but the banks wanted exact amounts, and there were no records.
Of course, he was asked to look into any foul play. He sat back and smiled. Maybe there was some foul play by certain cybernetic entities, but he had no hard evidence of that, nor would he search very hard to find it.